Living Single – The Panel Discussion, The Poem & The Show

Hello World!

It’s the first day of June which means that half of the year is over…Wow…I’ve have said this before, but I will say it again: Time flies the older you get…Anywho, you may be wondering where I’ve been for the last week or so…Actually, my family and I traveled to the Annual Christian Women’s Retreat which was held in Springfield, Illinois over the Memorial Day weekend. We made the 10-hour trek on Thursday and traveled back on Sunday. Last year, the retreat was held in Atlanta where I was the keynote speaker.

This year, I was asked to speak on a panel on singleness which I was wasn’t too excited about for a couple of reasons: I’m kind of tired of thinking about it all, and I don’t feel like I’m the poster child for model singleness anyway. But I did what I was asked to do…And I’m glad I did for a couple of reasons:  It gave me the opportunity to comprehensively reflect on my single journey and clarify why I’m finally ready to move on to a married journey, and I was able to meet some new people at the conference that I hope to stay in touch with as I continue to attend the Annual Christian Women’s Retreat.

One of the women I met reminded me about this dynamic, Christian spoken word artist and poet that I had heard about a few months ago. Janette McGhee, who is better known as “MissTerious Janette…ikz” (pronounced mysterious genetics), wrote and performed this awesome poem about waiting for right man that God brings instead of trying to make any ole guy the right one. The poem is titled, “I Will Wait For You.”…Take a look…it is worth the time to check it out…

Apparently, the 31-year-old spoken word artist and poet performed this poem at the at P4CM (Passion for Christ Movement) Lyricist Lounge earlier this year…I know this word isn’t in rotation anymore, but her poem was dope..her lyricism was reminiscent of the artistry that was old school hip hop before the bling bling and uninspired misogyny took over…I would go on, but that’s a topic for another day…

If you want to know more about this talent, read an article about her here and check out her website!

Any thoughts?

P.S. The new show “Single Ladies” premiered on Monday… I forgot to watch, but I heard it’s off to a not-so-good start…What y’all think?

Count Your Many Blessings…(aka Happy Thanksgiving 2010!)

Hello World,

Jenise & her new hubby on their big day...

I know the day after tomorrow, the United States will be awash in the commencement of the Christmas season. And it is the most wonderful time of the year, but I think the Lord does want us to celebrate His many blessings that He has lavished on us…And Thanksgiving is the perfect time to do so…The best way that I know to celebrate His many blessings is to count them or make a gratitude list…And let me share a secret with you…When life is hard and nothing seems to be going the way that you had expected or hoped for, making a gratitude list has an uncanny way of reminding you that your circumstances could be worse, thus inspiring hope for the future…And without further introduction, I present my Top 20 gratitude list for 2010…(in no particular order…)

1. Jehovah-Rohi(My Shepherd), Jehovah-Jireh(My Provider) and Jehovah-Shalom(My Peace). I’m thankful for the relationship I have with the Lord, who is my savior and my friend. Even when I don’t understand His ways, which is often, I just couldn’t live on this Earth without Him…

Jenise's bridesmaids on the way to the wedding in the limo...

2. The sermon I heard on New Year’s Eve about Joshua finally leading the Israelites into the Promised Land after they wandered for 40 years in the desert…This sermon inspired me to claim my entrance into my own personal promised land this year, and it is happening saints, Hallelujah!

3. My family. I don’t know how people live hundreds of miles away from their loved ones…My family is my rock…

4. R, who has been my biggest cheerleader this year…

5. The wedding of Jenise, one of my best friends…After suffering a heartbreaking relationship loss years ago, she is finally the wife to a man who truly loves her…

6. All of my girls…you know who you are…

7. Nevaeh Publishing LLC

8. Tiffany Warren and The Faith & Fiction Retreat

9. My favorite author, Catherine Marshall, whose words and influence continue to inspire me even after her death…

10. My job…

11. Traveling mercies…

The beautiful bride...

12. My formal financial coach who has taught the value of keeping track of every penny and making the best use of my resources…

13. My various spiritual and religious communities…

14. My line sister, Lola, who has an incredible story of hope, faith & victory…

15. Inspired Sistah, whose words and encouragement has inspired me to live on top of the world…Go Tangie Go!

16. All of my many adventures this year from covering the ABC News Nightline Face-Off”: Why Can’t a Successful Black Woman Find a Man? to calming down a chick who wanted to start a fight with one of my girls at the Phipps movie theater where we went to see Sex and the City 2. Hilarious…and pitiful at the same time…

17. The 31st Annual Christian Women’s Retreat. I thoroughly enjoyed being the featured speaker, particularly since I had to study this Bible verse…

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Romans 12:1-2

18. My blog. Not only is it a way to satisfy some of my creative urges, I have learned so much from writing and the people who appreciate my writing…thank you very much…

19. Spiritual Discernment…

20. Books…They are one of the loves of my life…

Any thoughts?

All of us...

Be Ye Transformed: The Reveal…

Hello World,

It's me...I'm giving a speech...to actual people...

Since many of you shared your fashion tips for my first speaking engagement, I thought it would only be right to share a few of the pics from the actual event. To refresh your memory, I was the keynote speaker at the 31st Annual Christian Women’s Retreat banquet which was held at the Westin Atlanta Airport hotel last night…

I did implement a few of your tips, but in a rush, I did not get the chance to try all of them…

My girl Latoicha from Luxe Tips did my makeup…Didn’t she do a fabulous job? And she went to great lengths to get my hotel room yesterday…God’s got a blessing for you girl 🙂

One of you suggested that I wear my hair up…I told my hairdresser, and she happily obliged…

Usually, I have my locs in curls, but I like this style too…

And the finished product…

I could have accessorized more, but as I stated earlier, I was in a rush at the last minute as usual…

And I have to thank my mommy who was one of my cheerleaders last night…

Clearly, Mrs. Holness knows how to dress and accessorize…I even forgot my purse…

And most importantly, I have to thank the Lord Jesus Christ who made this opportunity possible…He is the author and finisher of my faith and my dreams…

Any thoughts?

A quick snippet of my speech, if you are interested…